HYDERABAD, Oct 1: Sindh Chamber of Agriculture president Syed Qamaruzzaman Shah has demanded that the Sindh government should direct sugar mills to immediately start crushing cane and use force against mills refusing to do so.

He demanded that the delinquent sugar mill owners should be arrested and sent to jail.

Addressing the weekly meeting of the chamber held here on Sunday, he said that refusal to abide by the government orders would be a punishable act.

Mr Shah said that due to heavy rains, most other crops had been destroyed and small and big growers had pinned their hopes only on sugarcane.

He said that if crushing was not started immediately, the growers would not be able to celebrate Eid.

He said the government should direct sugar mills to light their boilers and leave it to cane-growers to supply the cane.

The meeting welcomed the Sindh government decision to fix the minimum price of sugarcane at Rs67 per 40kg.

The meeting observed that though the prime minister had announced reduction in prices of fertilisers but dealers were not prepared to sell agricultural inputs at reduced rates.

The meeting urged the government to ensure that fertilisers were sold at reduced rates and requested prime minister’s office to furnish a copy of the relevant notification to the chamber as ready reference.